A/N: As always, thank you all for the great reviews. I really do appreciate them, and they never fail to make me smile. This chapter picks up a couple of days after the last one. Hope you enjoy the update!

/

"Jan, Marissa is on her way over. Please let me know as soon as she gets here. It doesn't matter if I'm in a meeting or not."

"You've got it, Bianca. Is everything okay?"

"With Marissa, yes, she's fine. She won't be alone though. She'll have a client and her son with her. We may need some intake forms so I need you to pull out some for me. Also, will either you or Aya be available to provide transportation later today?"

"I'll make sure one of us is available and get started on those forms."

"Thanks." Bianca ducked back inside her office.

Jan reached for the necessary paperwork. She didn't need to ask any further questions. She knew that the client Marissa was bringing in needed their help and that was all she needed to know. The lawyer had done this a few times in the past, and whenever she had, it was usually an extreme case. The staff at the Miranda Center was well trained. Bianca had seen to that. Jan and Aya, however, had been tapped to receive extensive training for handling cases involving children. That was the reason behind Bianca's request that either one of them be available for providing transportation. The assistant received the distinct impression from her boss that the mother and son would be moving to a safe house.

/

Sam walked into the Center's offices and spotted Jan. She headed her way to see what was on the schedule for her today. The girl found she really enjoyed working here and was strongly considering asking Bianca if she could stay on after her community service was completed. Sam still had a lot of hours to complete, but it was something she was definitely considering. Gail and Alex Walker were very supportive of the idea when she mentioned it to them when she saw them at dinner last night. It was during that dinner that they brought up the idea of becoming her foster parents. Sam had to admit that she really liked them and was hoping something like that might happen. She was still a little leery of putting herself out there though, and she was hoping she could speak to Marissa and Bianca about it. Sam respected both women a great deal and enjoyed the time she spent with them and their kids. It was because of them that she had been given a second chance, and she wasn't going to screw it up. The irony that the place she had been coerced into damaging now offered her solace, hope and a future wasn't lost on her.

"Hey, Jan." The girl smiled as she stowed her backpack in a closet near the assistant's desk.

"Hey, Sam. How was school today?"

"Pretty good. I aced my history test!"

"That's great! Is that the one Gail was helping you study for?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yeah, she's a really good tutor. I can't wait to tell her how I did."

"When are you seeing her and Alex again?"

"I'm seeing them tonight for dinner again. Don't worry. I cleared it all with Mrs. Santos. Alex is going to pick me up here, and she's going to pick me up at their place after dinner."

Jan smiled at the girl. She had made a lot of progress in the time that she had known her. The assistant received daily reports from Eva Santos who managed the safe house where Sam was staying. She, in turned, passed those reports on to Bianca for review. From there, they went to Marissa and the District Attorney. Jan was happy that Sam was getting along with the Walkers. She had met the couple at a cookout Marissa and Bianca had over the summer. They were a very nice and genuine couple, and from the interactions with Sam that she had witnessed, they really cared about the girl. "I'm not worried. I figured you had everything approved."

"So, I was hoping to talk to Bianca before I got started today. I'd like to call Marissa too if I could sometime this afternoon."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted their opinion about something."

"Okay. Bianca's on a call right now, but I'm sure she'll be happy to make some time for you when she's done. You're in luck though about Marissa. She's stopping by here soon. I know she'll make some time to talk to you too if she can."

"Cool! So, what'd you have planned for me today?"

Jan pulled out the list she had compiled of things for Sam to do and was about to go over it when she saw Marissa enter the building and hold the door open for two other women and a small boy who looked to be about the same age as Gabby. One of the women was moving very slowly and was very self-conscious of her appearance. She had a black eye and a swollen jaw. Judging from the way she was moving, there were other injuries that she couldn't see. The boy had his head on the shoulder of the other woman.

Sam started to walk up to Marissa but stopped when she saw the injured woman. The girl knew something was up and that this was not a social call. The lawyer had business with the Center.

"Hi, Jan. Hi, Sam."

The girl gave her a soft smile. "Hi, Marissa."

Jan nodded. "Hi, Marissa. Bianca is expecting you. You can go right in."

"Thanks. This is Colleen and her son Will and her sister Joanna. Would you look after them while I talk with Bianca?"

"No problem."

"I appreciate it." She turned to the sisters. "I'll only be a few minutes. Jan will take excellent care of you. She is Bianca's assistant, and Sam is a volunteer here."

The younger brunette nodded. "Thanks, Marissa."

The lawyer headed into Bianca's office.

Jan got up and walked to the family. "How about we find you a place a little more comfortable to wait? Would you like something to drink?"

"Maybe some water."

"Sure, that's not a problem. Would Will like some juice? We have apple, orange …"

"I think apple juice would be great. Right, Will?" Joanna asked the boy who nodded in reply.

Jan nodded. "Sam, would you get some apple juice and water for our guests and meet us in the waiting room?"

"Sure. I'll be right there."

/

Marissa gave a quick knock before walking into Bianca's office. The brunette was on the phone and glanced up at the sound. She smiled as soon as she saw her partner.

"I need to go. My next appointment just got here. Could you send me an email with the details, and I'll follow up with tomorrow?" The brunette paused hearing the reply. "Thank you. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Bianca hung up and walked over to the redhead waiting patiently for her, giving her a quick kiss. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. If I knew you were on a call, I would've waited. Jan said to come in."

"No, she was right to do it. I told her to let me know as soon as you got here. Are Colleen and Will here?"

Marissa nodded as the couple took a seat on the small sofa the brunette kept in the office. "They are. Joanna's here too, for moral support. I have an update for you. Actually, I have several updates for you. The first of which is that Colleen is now officially my client."

"Does that mean she's filing for divorce?"

"It does. The severity of this beating was the wake call she needed. She knows that it's just not safe to stay with Robert any longer. It's not safe for her, and it's definitely not safe for Will. She admitted that her marriage is over and has been for some time. She wants nothing more than to start over and provide her son the home he needs and deserves."

"It's never easy ending a marriage. We both know that all too well, but sometimes, it's the only option, especially when violence comes into play."

"That's pretty much what Colleen told me when we spoke at the hospital. She also wants to press charges against him. We called Jesse and Mike right away so they could get the ball rolling on an arrest warrant for him. I sent Lisa down to the clerk's office to get a hearing scheduled for the order of protection. That will be happening in about 30 minutes. Brian's going to handle that hearing for me."

"That's good news. Once they get him behind bars …"

"Actually, that's my next update for you. Jesse called while we were on our way over here. They found Robert stumbling out of one of his favorite bars and placed him under arrest. He's currently sitting in a cell at the police station."

Bianca sighed in relief. "That was fast and even better news. I have to tell you that I didn't like the idea of him being on the loose."

"You and me both. The police been looking for him since this happened so it helped with tracking him down to place him under arrest. I still want the order of protection in place for her, and I'd like to have her and Will stay at a safe house for the time being. We don't know if Robert will get bail or not."

"Having them stay in a safe house is not a problem, and I agree that it's the safest course of action for her given the uncertainty right now. Is Colleen okay with doing that?"

"She is. We stopped at her house on the way over after hearing from Jesse, and she packed a small bag for both her and Will."

"Good. Let's talk with her." Bianca glanced outside her office and saw no one by it which confirmed that Jan had moved them to one of the private waiting rooms. She sent a quick text to her assistant asking her to bring Colleen and Joanna back to her office.

Marissa moved to a chair to give Colleen the more comfortable seat on the sofa. Bianca took the chair next to her.

A few minutes later, Jan entered the office followed by the sisters. "Will is with Aya and Sam." Jan offered the information to her boss.

Bianca nodded and waited until Colleen was seated and as comfortable as she could get before she stood and offered her hand to the seated woman. "Hi, Colleen. I'm Bianca Montgomery. Is there anything you need, anything we can do to make you more comfortable?"

The injured woman shifted slightly on the sofa and winced. "Would it be possible to get some more water, Ms. Montgomery? It's time to take my pain medicine."

"Of course and please call me Bianca." The brunette grabbed a bottle of water from the small refrigerator in her office, opened it and handed it to Colleen as Joanna retrieved the needed medication and handed it to her sister.

"Thank you, Bianca." Colleen spoke slowly, unable to open her injured jaw too wide. She'd heard about Bianca Montgomery. She was Erica Kane's daughter after all, and you'd have to be living under a rock not to know who Erica was. Bianca was famous in her own right though, but her fame was for her charitable work particularly with the Miranda Center. Now, Colleen found herself a recipient of that work. She couldn't help but wonder how her life came to this.

Bianca waited patiently while Colleen struggled to find the words she needed. "Take all the time you need."

The other woman nodded and noted how effortlessly Marissa had handed over the reins of this conversation to Bianca. Colleen knew from Joanna that the two were a couple and remembered seeing a photo of the two in the lawyer's office. She found herself envying the love and closeness that was obvious in that photo. Their relationship seemed like a true partnership. "I gave Marissa permission to fill you in on everything so I'm guessing you know all the ugly and sordid details. I never thought my life would come to this point. I can't believe I was so stupid and blind. I can only imagine what you think about me."

Bianca leaned forward. "Colleen, no one here is judging you. That's not how it works at the Center. You've asked for help, and we're here to give it to you. I'll be honest with you. It's not going to be easy. There will be some very tough days ahead, but if you're willing to do the work, you can get through this. Okay?"

Colleen simply nodded.

"Now, Marissa has told me that she feels it's in your and Will's best interest to stay at one of our safe houses for a while and that you agree with her."

"I do."

"Alright, we'll take care of that today. There are a few rules to go over. The house manager will go over all of them in detail with you, but I want to go over a couple of them now with you. The locations of the safe houses are kept secret. Only a handful of people know where they are, and they have pledged to keep that information secret. So, you won't be able to tell anyone where you're staying not even Joanna. That's not just for your safety. There are others staying in the house who are in a similar situation. We can't risk anyone's safety by letting that information get out. We have a process in place to allow for communication, but it won't be direct. Do you understand?"

Colleen nodded. "What about Marissa? I'm guessing she knows the locations because of your relationship. Will we meet there?"

Marissa leaned forward and answered this question. "No, we won't. I do know the locations because of my personal relationship with Bianca and because I'm on the board, but I'm under the same obligation as any other resident's lawyer. Any meetings we have will be conducted off the premises of the safe house. If I need to reach you, I'll contact the Center to have them set up a meeting either here or at my office. If you need to reach me, you let the manager of the safe house know, and they'll get in touch with me. This is for everyone's safety."

"Okay, I understand."

Bianca picked the discussion back up from there. "There will be some counseling sessions you'll be required to attend, and we'll have someone talk to Will as well. The two of you will share a room. Everyone helps out around the house too. Obviously, you need to heal from your injuries so that will be taken into account, but they'll come up with something for you to do. Speaking of your injuries, we have several doctors who volunteer their time. In fact, you already met one of them."

"You mean Dr. Hubbard? I liked him a lot."

"Frankie's volunteered for a while. Any doctor's appointments you have will either be handled here or at the hospital. Transportation is provided for those along with any appointments you may have with Marissa or any court dates. Do you have any questions about what I've gone over with you so far?"

"No, I understand the reasons for everything you've told me. I don't have any problems with those rules."

"Good. Do you have any questions for me right now?"

"I can't think of anything at the moment, but I'm sure I'll have some questions later." Colleen had found that she had relaxed a great deal since she had entered the Miranda Center. It was all due to Bianca. She offered comfort without suffocating or judging her, and her demeanor had a calming effect on frazzled nerves of the injured woman.

"That's fine and perfectly understandable. It's a lot to take in. The house manager will be able to answer any questions that you might have. If you need to talk to me though, just let her know. If there's nothing else, it's probably better for …" Bianca looked at her assistant.

"Aya will be taking them, and I've got all of Colleen's information." Jan offered and then left to retrieve Aya and Colleen's son.

"It's probably better for Aya to take you and Will to a house now so you can get settled. I'm sure it's been a long day for both of you."

Colleen nodded. "Yeah, it really has been and thank you, Bianca." She slowly stood up with her sister's help. "I guess this is it for now, Jo."

Joanna held back the tears that wanted to escape. The sisters spoke every day, and she was going to miss that. She knew what Colleen was doing right now was necessary, and she would do whatever she needed to keep her sister and nephew safe. "Yeah, it is but just for a little while, Col. I'll be here no matter what you need and so will Steve. I love you."

"I love you too. Thank you for everything you've done for us. I won't let you down this time. I promise."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'm proud of you, especially for doing this. You should know by now that I always have been. I just want you to keep yourself safe and let them help you. Use this time to heal, all the way around."

Marissa looked at Colleen and gently squeezed her hand. "I'll be in touch with an update on everything that's going on."

Bianca nodded to Aya who had entered the office. Joanna lifted her nephew and followed her sister and Aya out of the Center.

Marissa sighed as she watched the group leave. She turned to Bianca. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, you and your staff are amazing."

Before Bianca could argue that it was her staff that deserved all the credit, she was interrupted by her assistant.

"If the two of you have a few minutes, Sam told me earlier that she wanted to talk with you both."

"Did she say what about, Jan?" Marissa asked.

The assistant shook her head. "No, the only thing she said was that she wanted to get your opinion on something. Since your both here, I figured two birds, one stone."

Bianca chuckled. "Send her in please, Jan."

The assistant nodded and headed out in search of the girl.

"What do you think she wants, Rissa?"

"I really don't know. I mean the only thing I can think of is that it's maybe something to do with Alex and Gail. I spoke with Gail this morning. She told me that they brought up the idea of becoming Sam's foster parents to her last night."

"What did Sam say?"

"She wanted time to think about it which I can understand."

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." Bianca smiled when she saw Sam poke her head inside the office. "Hey, Sam. Jan said you wanted to talk to both of us about something?"

"Yeah, I did. Is now a good time?"

Marissa smiled. "It's a great time. Have a seat."

"Sam, I want to tell you before you start that you did a great job with Will just now. Thank you."

The girl sat a little straighter and the words of praise she received from Bianca. "You're welcome. Are they gonna be okay?"

The brunette sighed. "I'll be honest with you. I'm not sure. It's too early to tell for sure. I can tell you that they are on the right track."

"Bianca's right. She's asked for help. That's a big first step and one in the right direction. So, what's up?"

The girl cleared her throat. "You know I've been spending a lot of time with the Walkers, right?"

The couple nodded and waited for Sam to continue.

"Well, I had dinner with them last night, and they asked if I might like to live with them. They wanna be my new foster parents."

Marissa cocked her head slightly. "And what do you want? Do you like the idea?"

"I really like them. They're really nice, and they listen to me. They help me out with my homework, and they're a lot nicer than those other people I stayed with. I really love Mrs. Walker, I mean Carol. She's great."

The women both nodded. "I couldn't agree with you more. Carol's the best." Marissa added. "So, what do you think of living with them?"

"I kinda like the idea, but I'm a little scared."

"That's understandable. It's a big decision." Bianca said understanding the girl's hesitation.

"Yeah, it is. It's just that. I dunno how to say this without it sounding weird."

Suddenly, Marissa understood what Sam wasn't saying, the real reason for her reluctance. "Sam, it's okay to like Gail and Alex, and it's okay to want to live with them. Your parents would understand, and they'd want you to be happy."

Sam knew that Marissa would understand. "You don't think they'd think that I forgot them?"

The redhead smiled softly and shook her head. "No, I don't think they would. They'd want you to be happy, safe and with someone who cares about you, who would take of you. No one can ever take their place, and Gail and Alex aren't asking to do that. The three of you, well actually the four of you if you include Carol, are helping each other. You need a home, a real home, a place you can call your own. You need someone you can go to, someone that will have your back and be there for you with love and understanding. Actually, you deserve all of that. You have a lot of love to give and so do the Walkers. They care about you a great deal, and I know them well enough to know that what you see is what you get with them. They don't hide who they are so you don't have to worry about that. They would never try and replace your parents. You can give each other something all of you want, need and deserve. You can be a family, and there are all kinds of families. I guess I should tell you a little more about my family."

The girl nodded and listened carefully.

"You know that my mom and dad died in a car accident. Well, there's a little more to the story. They weren't my biological parents. They adopted me when I was just a baby."

"What happened to your other parents?"

"That's a whole other story that we won't go into. The point I want to make is that they wanted me, and they gave me a home and so much love. I wouldn't trade them for anything. Even though they weren't my biological parents, we were still a family. You don't need to share DNA to be a family. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Sam sat quietly for a minute absorbing everything. She liked the Walkers a lot, and they really were becoming a family of sorts. "I think so. I'd like to give it a try. I'd like to live with them. What do I do next?"

Marissa smiled. "Well, you tell Alex and Gail what you want to do, and I'll start on the legal stuff first thing tomorrow."

"I have an idea. Why don't you go into one of the huddle rooms and call them. See if they can pick you up early, and you can tell them." Bianca suggested as she smiled.

"But what about what Jan wanted me to do for her today?"

Bianca chuckled. "I think she'll understand. Besides, her boss says it's okay."

"Her boss is a pushover sometimes." Marissa smirked.

Sam grinned and finally allowed herself to laugh. "Okay, I'll go give them a call." She started to rush out of the room but quickly turned and hugged both women. "Thanks! You guys are great!"

/

Two days later, Marissa and Bianca were at Krystal's having lunch. The redhead was filling her partner in on the latest with the Walkers' petition to become Sam's foster parents when her cellphone rang.

"Hi, Jesse. What's up?" Marissa listened carefully to the police chief on the other end of the line. "I see. When?" There was another short pause. "I understand. Thanks for calling and letting me know."

Bianca looked at her partner. She recognized the look in her eyes. Whatever Jesse had told her wasn't good news. "What is it, Rissa?"

Marissa took a deep breath. "Robert Brennan is out on bail."